Chair having resilient frame



May 5, 1953 H. s. sou-rm 2,637,371

CHAIR HAVING RESILIENT FRAME Filed July 13, 1950 I 4 Sheets-Sheet l3nventor Hare/a 5 Bout/n I (Ittomegs y 1953 H. s. BOUTIN 2,637,371

CHAIR HAVING RESILIENT FRAME Filed July 13, 1950 4 Sheets-Shee t 2inventor attorneys May 5, 1953 H. s. BOUTIN CHAIR HAVING RESILIENT FRAMEFiled July 13, 1950 :4 sheets sheecv 5 7 4. 5 Ll I I a Y a 3 Hare/a, 550;: t/h

y 5, 1953 H. s. BOUTIN 2,637,371

I CHAIR HAVING RESILIENT FRAME Filed July 15, 1950 I 4 Sheet -sheet 43npentot Patented May 5, 1953 UNITED PATENT OFF ICE CHAIR HAVINGRESIIJIENT'FRAME' Harold S. .Boutin, Toledo, Ohio.

Application 11113213, 1950, SerialNo.i173',568

(Cl. 1 55i--5i)1) This invention relates to improvements in chairs andmore particularly to an improvement in ,achair frame structure embodying'anew concept of structure forproviding cantileversupport for the seatof the chair and a new means for providing resiliency in the chairframe.

Chairsem'bodying the invention are particular-- 1y adaptable for use asstenographers" or-clerks posture chairs, as factory chairs, as st-sols,for example in kitchens or in barsor atlunch counters, as dinette chairsor as restaurant chairs.

Modifications of the-invention canbe: embodiedin chairs designed for allof these purposes as well as for other uses and purposes wheresimplicity and inexpensive construct-ion-are desired, modernappearanceis an attribute and comfort during long perio'tlsoi sitting anobject.

The construction-ofchairs embodying the invention can besti'beunderstood reference to the drawings, in which:

Figure I is a view in: perspectiveof a" stencgraph'er s posturechairembodyingth'e invention. Figure 11 is a vertical; sectional viewtaken substantially ona medianplane-ofa chair similar tothe-chairshownin Figure I- but without cast-- Figure III is a rear elevation, withparts-being broken" away; of thechair shown in FigureII Figure IV is afragmentary horizontal- View showing-details of the sea-t support theframesh-own in section at the position indicated by the line IV-IV of"Figure II;

Figure V is a viewin side "elevation. of another embodiment of theinvention as designed for use as a factoryxchair; or'a high levelchairs-uch as usech by telephone switchboard operators, in.

hitohens; or adjacent counters or bars.

Fig'urevVES is a-fragmentary:enlarged view partlyin' sectionshowingaiioot rest supportwhich maybe employed on thechair: showninrFigure V Figure V31 is :an. enlarged; detailed view of the backrestsupporting, meansused-a on. the chair illustratedin' Figure; V5;

EigureVHl' isa plan viewroif;thezhacltirestsupporting; meansillustratedainFigure-VII.

Figure:- IX is an: enlarged; detailed view 015: aback. rest: as;employed om the chairs illustrated inahigures- I through lll.

Figure X is an enlarged, detailed, sectional.

view takenonthe line offhigureeliiii.

Figure is-a ,fragmentary, detailed; enlarged view of? the back: restsupporting; means shown inFigure IX.

Figure XII. is. a. fragmentary, sectional: viewtransversely across theseat of thechairnillus.

trated in Figures I through IV.

Figure is a fragmentary view illustrating another -modification of thechair-as designed for use by a small child.

Figure XIV'isa plan view of the portion of the chair shown in FigureXII-I.

A chair embodying'the' invention and designedfor use as a stenographersposture chair is-iliustrated' in Figure I. The same embodiment of theinvention, but slightly modified" for use as a stationary chair, forexample, in restaurants, dinettes, porches as a lawn chair and forotheruses, is illustrated in Figures'Il and III. The

details of construotionof the chair shown in Fig ures I, II and areidentical, the-only diner-- ence being the presence'oi casters in theembodiment illustrated in- Figural;

A chair embodying the invention has a main frame c p si'ng a basesection l l whichcon si'sts in a-rear por-ti'oi'r I 2 and side portionsi=3 havinginwardly turned frontends i 4 The main frame preferably isconstructedfiom tubing, forexample, stainlesssteel tubing oraluminum-tubing withthe aluminum having aconsiclerahle portionoi'alloy'm'eta'l to give it resiliency. Other metals-and other materialsmay also beemployed;

it being'necess'ary only that the structure have resiliency for comfortsupport for a person seated on-the chair as willlater be explained.

The rear portion lwof the frame extends gen erally crosswise ofthe chairand may be shaped in a curve-oi? large radius. At what. would-be therear corners of a conventional chair, a sharper curve; as at 1.5, blendsintotheside portions 13 of'thevbase section I1 and the two side portionsI 3 extend forwardly in laterallyspaced'relationship; Thepreoise'curvatures of the rear portion l'2, the corners I51 and the sideportions I 3. are: not critical and they maybe one oontinuous curve or.they may bear series of blending curves as'is illustrated in Figure I.

The: front. ends lioi the side portions R3 are turned inwardly towardeach other. in a sharper curve as at [6 and then areturnedrear-rovardly' againsubstantially parallelT and in spacedrelationship: The turned inv portions of the base section blend. intoupwardly. sweeping parallel elements H- of the main support section ofthe frame Iii. The elements H consist in upwardlysweepingcurvedportions' which blend into rear.-

wardly' inclined, parallel, spaced, straight portionsv I6; Again,- theprecise curvature of the curved portions of theelements: W is not atall. critical nor are the: radii" of the curved sections blendingbetweentheirlower forward ends and:

the inwardly turned front ends 14 of theside portions 13.

While the precise curvatures of all of these elements and portions ofthe chair are matters of choice, one factor must be taken intoconsideration in their curvature and design. The rear portion l2, sideportions l3 and the front ends |4 thereof, all lie substantially flat onthe floor in a chair embodying the invention which is not equipped withcasters (for example, the chair shown in Figures II and III). It isnecessary, therefore, that these portions of the base section all liesubstantially in the same horizontal plane. Similarly for simplificationof structure, in a chair designed to be moved (for example, thestenographers posture chair illustrated in Figure I) the portions of thebase section should be fiat so as to permit the attachment thereto offour or more substantially identical caster elements I 9. The casterelements generally indicated at H! may be welded or otherwise secured tothe base section II as shown in Figure I, these elements l9 preferablyare offset caster elements having twisted shafts rotatable at one end ontheir axes in mounting blocks and at their other ends rotatably carryingbell shaped wheels, which facilitate the moving of the chair.Conventional vertical axis casters may also be employed if desired.

A look or spacer preferably is secured between the elements of thesupport section of the chair in order to insure their ilexuresimultaneously and to the same degree during the action resulting when aperson sits on the chair as will later be explained. The uppermost endsof the tubes forming the straight portions l8 of the support section ofthe chair may be closed by metal caps 2|.

In the modifications of the invention illustrated in Figures I, II andIII the upper ends of the portions I8 of the support section are securedto each other by a seat support member 22 (see Figures II and III). Themember 22, shown as a casting in the drawings, is designed to fitbetween the parallel straight portions H of the support section and issecured to the upper ends of the portions l8 by four machine screws 23,which pass through the portions 8 and are screwed into the member 22.The member 22 is provided with a series of horizontally extendingnotches 24 which are spaced vertically from each other by fixeddistances. support strap 25 has a turned over lip 26 (Figure II) whichis engageable in the notches 24 in the member 22. The strap 25 extendsdownwardly and then forwardly between the spaced straight portions |8 ofthe support section of the chair being turned horizontally to form aseat support 21 cantilevered out above the upwardly sweeping portions llof the support section of the chair. A rider 28 is secured to thesupport strap 25 near the point where the latter extends forwardly andslides along the rear surface of the straight portions 8 of the supportsection.

The seat support 21, which may actually be an extension of the seatsupport strap 25, is provided with a pair of elongated slots 29 throughwhich extend two screws 30 provided with wing nuts 3|. The screws 30 areembedded in a formed molded seat 32 in the modification of the inventionshown in Figures I, II and III and serve to secure the seat 32 to thechair support 2'! and on the chair The chair support 2'! may also beprovided with a ring 33 which may be weldel to the chair support as at34 (Figure II) and 35 (Figure IV).

A seat In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures I, IIand III the seat 32 is molded from, for example,'resin impregnatedlaminated fabric. The ring 33 may or may not be provided with an annularrubber cushion 36 (see Figure XII) or it may be desirable in other casesto surround the bolts 30 (Figure II) with resilient washers 31 above andbelow the seat support 21 to eliminate possibilities of rattling orworking loose and to make a flexible joint between the seat 32 itselfand the seat frame, consisting in either the seat support 21 or the ring33. These details can be modified as desired to accomplish facility inconstruction, particularly of the molded resin impregnated seat 32, theselection of particular cushioning means between the seat and seatsupport frame being a mere matter of choice.

A back rest support 38 may be welded to the seat support strap 25 as at39, and extends up wardly parallel to the seat support strap 25 adistance sufficient to lie in front of the support member 22. A knurledthumb screw 4. is threaded through the back rest support 38, bearingagainst the forward surface of the support member 22, thereby tomaintain the engagement of the lip 25 of the seat support strap 25 inone of the notches 24.

At the upper end of the back rest support 38 (see Figures IX, X and XI)there is fixed a horizontally extending resilient bow 4| which at eachend terminates in a pin 42 (see Figure XI) engageable in either of apair of spaced holes 43 in each of two inserts 44 which are molded intoopposite sides of an oval, horizontally extending back rest 45. The ovalback rest 45, like the seat 32, may be molded from resin impregnatedlaminated fabric or from similar material or these two parts may be madefrom molded plywood or they may be merely fabricated from metal as bystamping. The particular material used for the shaped seat 32 and backrest 45 again is a matter of choice, although the drawings illustratesthe seat 32 as being made from molded synthetic resin and the back rest45 as being fabricated from similar material.

Because of the resiliency of the back rest supporting bow 4|, the backrest 45 may be easily disengaged therefrom by flexing the bow 4| andwithdrawing the pins 42 from that pair ofthe holes 43 in which they areinserted. This arrangement provides for quick and simple adjustment ofthe height of the back rest 45 relative to the seat 32. The two pairs ofholes 43 are positioned, for example, one-quarter inch andthree-quarters inch away from the horizontal center line of the backrest. Thus, with the back rest bow -4| engaged in the nearer pair ofholes 43, its position can be quickly changed by disengaging it andinserting the pins 42 in the more removed pair of holes 43. Ifthis'adjustment is not appropriate two adjustments on the other side ofthe center line are provided by disengaging the back rest 45 from thebow 4| rotating it degrees and re-engaging the pins 42 in the holes 43.By spacing the holes 43 off the horizontal center line of the back restfour adjustments in height can be provided with only two pairs of holes43. If still more adjustments are desired, the inserts 44 may beequipped with three or fours holes each, thereby increasing thepositions relative to the center li e of the back rest 45- in which thepins 42 on the bow 4| may be positioned.

thereupon re-engaging the finger 74 in its new position; 'The forwardend of the seat support strap 15 may be connected by means of sidestraps 18 to a horizontal pipe frame 19 which alsois secured'to a back80 of the seat 11. The pipefr'ame'19, may also be welded or otherwisesecured, as at 8|, to the looped over portion of theseat support strap15. The pipe 19 serves thus as an integral frame element in the babyschair and its front portion 81' may also serve to support a tray 83iwhich maybe welded or otherwise secured thereto,'for 'example,forfeeding the child. The spacing between the two arms of the strap- 15 maybe adjusted by a screw 84 which extends through the rear arm of thestrap 15 and isthreaded into the front arm of the strap 15.

'-'The several modifications of chairs embodying the invention aredisclosed to illustrate the novelty-comprising the instant invention.The. particular shape of seat or back rest, the particular arrangementof seat support strap and back support elements or the means of mount--ing the several types of seats and back rests shown; are details in theinstant invention; but

the invention consists primarily in a redesign of chair frames whichprovides a generally horizontal base section and a rearwardly andupwardly extending seat support section that is connected to the basesection only at the for-- ward portion of the basesection and from whichsupport section a seat is cantilevered forwardly of the support section,the seat generally overlying the base sectionand the rearwardly andupwardly sweeping portion 'of the support section.

Having described the invention, I claim:"

- 1. A chair comprising, in combination, a frame having a horizontalbase section lying generally in a single plane, said basesectionconsisting in a rear cross portion and side portions joined to saidcross portion and extending generally for-- wardly and being laterallyspaced from each other, said side portions being turned inwardly towardeach other at the front and then generally atthe center being turnedbackward generally parallel to each other, and a support sectionconsisting in portions joinedto the back ward extending parts of saidside portions of said base section and sweeping 'rearwardlyand upwardlyin a curve of relatively large radius and culminating in substantiallyparallel, substantially straight portions inclined rearwardly to' theplane of said base section at an angle of less than ,90" degrees; agenerally horizontal, forwardly extending seat; and a seat supportingframe underlying said seat and connected to said support section at therear of said seat.

2. A chair comprising, in combination, a frame having a horizontal basesection lying generally in a single plane, said base section consistingin a rear cross portion and side portions joined to said cross portionand extending generally forwardly and being laterally spaced from eachother,-'said'side portions being turned inwardly toward each other atthe front and then generally at the center being turned backwardgenerally parallel to each other, and a support section consisting inportions joined to the backward extending parts of said side portions ofsaid base section and sweeping rearwardly and upwardly in a curve ofrelatively large radius and culminating in substantiallyparallel,substantially straight portions inclined rearwardly to the plane of saidbase section at an angle of less than degrees; a generally horizontal;forwardly extending seat; a seat supporting frame underlying said seatand connected to said support section at the rear of said seat; andmeans for holding the portions of said support section in predeterminedlateral spaced relation to each other.

3. A chair comprising, in combination, a frame havin a horizontal basesection lying generally in a single plane, said base section consistingin a rear cross portion and side portions blendingly joined to saidcross portion and extending generally forwardly and being laterallyspaced from each other, the forward ends of said side portions beingturned inwardly toward each other and then generally at the center beingturned backward generally parallel to each other, and a support sectionconsisting in a pairv of generally parallel portions joined to thebackward extending parts of said side portions of said base section andsweeping rearwardly and upwardly in a curve of relatively large radiusand culminating in substantially parallel, substantially straightportions inclined rearwardly to the plane of said base section at anangle of less than 90 degrees; a generally downward extending seatsupport adjustably supported from the top of said straight portions, anda horizontal forwardly extending seat supported on said seat support. 4.In a chair according to claim 1, an improvement in the means forconnecting the seat supporting frame to the seat support section thatconsists in a seat support member secured to the upper end of each ofthe straight portions of said seat support section and serving tolaterally space and secure said portions together and that has avertical row of spaced recesses located between said upper ends forengagement with means on the seat supporting frame.

HAROLD s. BOUTIN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

